Funeral mourners - Jonny's open letter to Oldham MP and councillors

Jonny Flint has felt compelled to write an open letter to local MP Jim McMahon and councillors

Having now attended three funeral services for departed grandparents since lockdown, Jonny Flint has felt compelled to write an open letter to local MP Jim McMahon and councillors in an urgent appeal for change to be considered when it comes to mourner rules at crematoriums, especially the one in Oldham.

Student Jonny's letter includes information on distancing guidelines, a graph and observations surrounding what he sees as clear disparities and unfairness regarding funeral services and current arrangements.

The current government guidelines regarding funeral gatherings include: “restricting the number of mourners to be as low as possible to ensure a safe distance of at least 2 metres (6 ft) can be maintained between individuals."

Jonny said: "The reason this is so important to me is because this is now the third funeral that I will attend during the pandemic and like many others, I am finding it hard to understand why mourners do not have priority when it comes to new social distancing rules.

"Especially as the grieving process is so important and we (my family) were not allowed to say goodbye.

"This is a personal appeal, but also one that I feel speaks to many families nationwide.

"As non-essential shops open (June 15) and people are free to visit Primark, zoos and other non-essential public places, I believe that it is only right to reconsider the number of mourners allowed inside a crematorium, especially when there is capacity to socially distance.

"I have made an easy to assimilate graph which showcases the current disparity between mourner rules and the capacities of crematorium; Oldham crematorium within Hollinwood cemetery is a very clear outlier in the graph.

"The graph shows the unfairness currently happening across England.

"Oldham has the capacity for 180 people, yet only allows 10 in, whilst Howe in Wigan has capacity for 86 and allows 18 mourners in."

You can view the open letter in full on a Twitter post here

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